“Gripping, scholarly, and groundbreaking,
Mysteries of the Sacred Universe deserves to be widely read and
discussed.”
—Robert G. Bauval, coauthor of both
The Orion Mystery and The Message of the Sphinx

From
the flat earth to the sun’s chariot, traditional spiritual texts often
seem wedded to outmoded cosmologies that show, at best, the scientific
limitations of their authors. The Bhagavata Purana, one of the classical
scriptures of Hinduism, seems, at first glance, to be no exception. However,
a closer examination of this text reveals unexpected depths of knowledge
in ancient cosmology. Mysteries of the Sacred Universe shows that
the cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana is a sophisticated system,
with multiple levels of meaning that encode at least four different astronomical,
geographical, and spiritual world models.
By viewing the text in the light of
modern astronomy, Richard Thompson shows how ancient scientists expressed
exact knowledge in apparently mythological terms. Comparison with the ancient
traditions of Egypt and the Near East shows early cultural connections
between India and these regions—including a surprisingly advanced science.
However, quantitative science is only part of the picture. Mysteries
of the Sacred Universe also offers a clear understanding of how the
spiritual dimension was integrated into ancient Indian cosmology.